Shattered Mirrors
by HappyDonkeyCigarette
Summary: When Samantha Keller goes to Forks to escape a troubled past, she meets the beautiful Cullen family we all know and love. Can she let the Cullens, or more specifically Jasper, help her or will they be too late to save her? A/Ed C/Es R/Em J/OC Pete/Char
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** You should know by now that Twilight belongs to Stephanie Meyer.

* * *

I hate the sun. Maybe that's why I'm moving from California to a dreary town called Forks. What kind of person moves to a rainy town named after a kitchen utensil?

A freak, that's who. A freak like me who hates the sun yet loves the rain. A freak that just doesn't care about anything. A freak that just wants to forget about her past and what happened to her and just move on.

That my friends is why I, Samantha 'Sam' Keller, am on the plane headed to live with my aunt in Forks. The wettest place in the continental US.

I can't wait.

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**That was the short intro to my new story Shattered Mirrors.**

**Hope you like it.**

**Rate, Review, Whatever - C.B. (:**

**P.S. 176 Words.  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**Previously. . .**

_That my friends is why I, Samantha 'Sam' Keller, am on the plane headed to live with my aunt in Forks. The wettest place in the continental US._

_I can't wait._

_

* * *

_**SamanthaPOV**

As I was stepping off of the plane, the girl in front of me tripped and if it wasn't for me cathching her, she would have fell face first down the steps. That would have been horribly hilarious.

When I had to steady her again at the bottom I asked her if she was okay. I mean, was she drunk or something?

She blushed tomato red. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just really clumsy." She said with a super shy smile. She was really pretty with her long brown hair, deep brown eyes, and really pale skin.

I stuck out my hand. "Hi, I'm Samantha Keller but you can call me Sam or Sammy." I hated when people called me Samantha. It just seemed too long.

"Hi, I'm Isabella Swan but you can call me Bella." She greeted with a smile that was a lot less shy than her first one. "I'm here to live with my Dad in Forks." She said with a grimace. "I hate the rain."

"Really? I'm here to live with my Aunt in Forks. I love the rain. I just had to get away from the sun in California."

"You actually _like_ the rain?!" She asked with a wrinkle in her nose.

"If you hate the rain why are you moving to Forks?" I asked, bewildered.

She looked over my shoulder. "It's a long story and my Dad's here but maybe we could hang out sometimes?"

"Of course. Are you going to Forks highschool?"

"You mean the only highschool they have?" We laughed. "Yeah, I'm going to that one."

"Alright. See 'ya." I said.

"Bye." She called as she walked away only to return a minute later. "Is your Aunts name Wanda Brady by any chance?" She asked.

"Umm, yeah." Unfortunately. "Why?"

"Well she kinda asked my Dad to pick you up. He's the Cheif of police. Apparently you live right next door to me." She said with a smile.

"Well lead the way." I motioned ahead with a smile. I think I'll actually come to like Bella.

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**Sorry for the short chapter but I didn't have a lot of time.**

**Rate, Review, Whatever -C.B (:**

**P.S. 466 Words.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Previously. . .**

_"Well she kinda asked my Dad to pick you up. He's the Chief of police. Apparently you live right next door to me." She said with a smile._

_"Well lead the way." I motioned ahead with a smile. I think I'll actually come to like Bella._

_

* * *

_**SammyPOV**

Once we pulled up to my house after a half an hour watching tree after tree pass by**, **Bella and I exchanged phone numbers before they were off and I was left on my own to go inside.

I walked up to the door and knocked. No one answered. After knocking a few more times without answer I decided to just walk in. The door was unlocked. I shouldn't have been surprised, I mean we are in a small town after all. What could happen? Famous last words.

I wouldn't call the house particularly huge but for what it lacked in size, it certainly made up for when you looked inside. The living room was beautifully made up of different shades of purple and gold. What I could see of the kitchen was all white and black with a little bit of red thrown in giving it a perfectly professional look.

While I was glancing around, I noticed a note from Wanda on the kitchen table so I dropped my luggage by the door and walked over to read it.

_Samantha,_

_I apologize for not being there when you arrived. I was called away on very short notice so I couldn't be there to greet you personally. I hope you understand. I got you a ice cream cake. It's in the freezer. Your mom told me that you didn't like regular cake but who doesn't like ICE CREAM?!_

_Call me around 7 to let me know how you like everything and how your settling in. I should be back late tomorrow night._

_- Wanda. (:  
_

_P.S. My number is 555-6565._

_P.P.S. Your room is third door on the left._

Okay. I am not intimidated by the beautiful house. I am not intimidated by the beautiful house.

I sighed and took my suitcase, yeah you heard me right, my _one_ suitcase upstairs to my room to start unpacking. Geeze did I feel insignificant in this house.

The bedroom was beautiful. I didn't wave words to describe it. The bed was just fantastic. It was one of those ones with the curtains surrounding it with lights inside so you can close the curtain but still have light. And it was round! Can you believe that?_ The bed was round!_

The bathroom was made of black marble with gold taps. Did I mention that the colour scheme of the room was red and gold? No? Well it is.

This woman must really like gold.

My favorite part of the room though was the window that led out onto the roof. I've always wanted one of those but never thought I'd actually get one. I've lived in poverty my whole life. I mean, the one suitcase was a medium that held everything I own. And it wasn't even full!

I was done unpacking in less than a half an hour so I started memorizing the streets in Seattle seeing as how I had to head there tomorrow to get some clothes for my first day of school the next day.

* * *

At 7 o'clock I called Wanda.

"Hello?" A feminine voice answered.

"Wanda Brady?" I asked, unfamiliar with her voice.

"Samantha?" She asked with excitement.

"Yeah it's me."

"Oh my Lord! You sound so mature! So how do you like it here? Is the house nice? Do you like your room? How about the cake?" She started firing questions off super fast.

"I love it here so far. The fog and the rain is great." Yeah I know I sounded like a freak. So what. "The house is the most beautiful thing I've seen in real life." I stated honestly. "I love the room. My favorite is the bathroom." I didn't mention that my favorite was actually the window. It would make it seem as if I liked sneaking out. "The cake is delicious. I've already had a piece." A little white lie but it made her feel better.

"I knew you would like it here! Feeling at home with the gloomy weather runs in our family." She said with a laugh. Talking about family made me uncomfortable because the family I grew up with never really liked me and the family that I should have grown up with is mostly dead.

We talked for a little while before she told me she had to go.

After wandering in circles in the house I decided to call Bella. "You should come over if you're not reuniting with your Dad or whatever.I have a whole ice cream cake that I cannot eat by myself." I told her. She laughed.

"My Dad was called in to work so I'll be over in a sec." She said.

"'Kay just let yourself in." I told her before hanging up.

About five minutes later she came in.

"Sammy?" She called.

"I'm in the kitchen." I told her.

We ended up talking, watching all dogs go to Heaven, and eating ice cream cake all night.

We got to a point where I asked her what her life story was.

She looked at me and said, "You know I wouldn't tell my life story to anyone but for some reason I want to tell you. It's weird, it feels like I've known you forever, or something." She said with a little furrow between her eyebrows.

I laughed. "I feel the same way! It _is _weird. I never open up to anyone."

It was her turn to laugh. "Okay well I had a pretty average life up until I was 15. Renee, my Mom, Met this guy named Dave. He was a creep but my Mom didn't notice. He made crude comments to me when my Mom wasn't around and eventually tried to rape me. Tried being the key word. I may have been in Phoenix but my Dad sent up free new pepper spray every month. I got away and told my Mom. She called the cops, he was arrested and everything was okay again. That is until my Mom met another guy. He's the reason I came to live with my Dad."

Did he touch her too? Poor Bella. "He tried to rape you too?" I might just have to go after this guy.

"No, no." She assured quickly. "Phil is perfect for my mother in every way and he saw me as nothing but a daughter. My mind knew that but my body was just too scared to have another step-father living with us. I was way too jumpy so, well, I decided to move here with my Dad for a while. My Mom was willing to leave Phil but I could see that it hurt her. It hurt me too to think of my mother letting such a perfect match get away. So here I am." She said with a smile.

"Wow." I didn't know what to say. "That sucks." How fucking insensitive can you get?!

She just laughed again. "It does but I wouldn't change it for the world. It made me who I am today. It made me stronger."

I smiled sadly. "I know what you mean"

Her gaze turned inquisitive. "If you don't mind me asking what's your story?"

I sighed. To tell or not to tell. On one hand she did tell me her story which must have been hard. But on the other, I've never told anyone before. I looked into Bella's eyes and she must have known I was looking for something because she stayed quiet.

I decided.

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**Heheh Nana Nana Boo Boo!!!**

**CLIFFHANGER! I love those (: ... Well unless I'm reading them of course.**

**Rate, review, whatever. -C.B (:  
**

**P.S. 1,504 Words.**

**

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caleb's babe-**_ Thank you for reviewing and I know the chapters have been really short but I'm working on that. (:_**  
**


	4. Chapter 4

**Previously. . .**

_I sighed. To tell or not to tell. On one hand she did tell me her story which must have been hard. But on the other, I've never told anyone before. I looked into Bella's eyes and she must have known I was looking for something because she stayed quiet._

_I decided._

**SammyPOV**

"Okay, if I tell you, you have to come to Seattle with me to go shopping."

"Shopping? Really?" She groaned.

"Yes, shopping. I have all this money and I don't know what to do! I already sorted half of it into different insurances and savings and all that but I still have millions. I'm completely intimidated so tomorrow we can go shopping! We can even get Halloween costumes!!!!" I squealed. I hated holidays but Halloween was my all time favorite.

Bella laughed. "Okay, okay. Just because of the Halloween costumes. I. Love. Halloween!" She said with a big smile. I smiled back.

"There's something I need to tell you before I start. Something that's super duper secret."

Bella's face went serious. "Go on."

"I practice witchcraft."

"... What?" She asked dead panned.

"Would you like a demonstration?" I asked with a smirk.

"Sure."

I cast a fairly simple levitating spell. My eyes went from a dull gray to blue and green with designs in it and light blue swirls around it. _**{[****Pic On Profile Under 'Magic Eye']}**_

**BellaPOV**

"No. Way." She was levitating the whole freaking couch with just a few muttered Latin words! And her eyes were just... Wow.

She just laughed. "Yes. Way. Now do you want me to go on with the story or do you want to just leave now?" She asked quietly. I could see the fear of rejection in her eyes though she tried desperately to hide it. "It's not a happy story."

I looked her in the eye seriously and said. "This may sound cheesy but I'm here to listen. If you want to tell me then I'll sit and listen, I'm not going to pressure you. And I'm not leaving."

She smiled and set the couch back on the floor with a wave of her hand. "Okay then. My parents fought all the time. Like _all_ the time. My sisters and I were forced to sit there and listen to them scream at each other. They would go all night if they felt like it. My Dad was an alcoholic as well as a drug addict and a smoker. My Mom was a chain smoker and a drug addict. They used to do crack but they moved on to weed so I guess it could have been worse. We were always poor. My parents sold my Christmas and birthday gifts for drugs. We lived on Mr. Noodles and water. We each had about one outfit that had no holes in it. We went from living in dirty cockroach infested welfare buildings to motel rooms to homeless shelters. I was used to it. That's why it's so weird having money." Her eyes started to turn red with what I assumed to be anger. _**{[ Pic On Profile Under 'Angry Eye']}**_

"I was only when I turned 13 when I started realizing that this shit is fucked up. I started going for walks alone at night which isn't smart when you live in Scarborough, Toronto. I ran into this group of guys one night that 'liked the way I moved' or some shit like that. After some choice words they grabbed me and tried to molest and rape me. I let all my anger out. Before anger management I was a really angry person. I still am but it takes a lot to get me angry. Surprisingly I won. I wasn't even practicing witchcraft back then, I didn't start 'till I was 14. I walked away with a stab wound above my left breast and a bunch of bruises but that's it. Apparently a man saw me. He offered me a job as an underground fighter. I'd get paid and get to release my anger. I took it." Her eyes started to go back to their natural silver.

"Any ways, my Dad got drunk last Christmas and told me he regretted adopting me. I didn't even know I was adopted. He told me all about my real parents, showed me the safe where he kept the checks they sent me and the house and money that they left me in their will. He showed me the letter they wrote me all the while telling me how worthless I was that not even my parents wanted me. The note said that my Mom was just too young to take care of me but she loved me. I found Wanda and came to move in with her."

I stared blankly at her. "I think I hate the assholes that raised you." I then quickly covered my mouth. I don't swear.

She laughed. "Don't worry. I know I do."

We talked and laughed until I went home to cook Charlie some dinner.

* * *

THE NEXT DAY

**SammyPOV**

I was just reading some X-Men comics (yes, I know I'm a dork) when Bella walked in. We decided to take Bella's Volvo seeing as I didn't get my motorcycle yet.

As we drove we were singing along with the radio. Bella had a really good voice and I was pretty good to if I do say so myself.

**Bold = Bella**

_Italics = Samantha_

Underlined = Both

_Where's all my souls sisters_  
_Let me hear ya'll flow sisters_

Hey sister, go sister, soul sister, flow sister _(Oh)_  
Hey sister, go sister, soul sister, flow sister

**He met Marmalade down in old Moulin Rouge**  
**Struttin' her stuff on the street **  
**She said, "Hello, hey Joe, you wanna give it a go?"**

Giuchie, giuchie, ya ya da da _(yeah-ey)_  
Giuchie, giuchie, ya ya here _(here)_  
Mocha Choca latta ya ya _(ooh yeah)_  
**Creole Lady Marmalade**

Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir _(ah, oh)_  
Voulez vous coucher avec moi _(Yeah yeah yeah yeah)_

(Hey sister, go sister, soul sister, flow sister  
Hey sister, go sister soul sister folw sister)

**He sat in her boudoir while she freshened up**  
**Boy drank all that Magnolia wine**  
**On her black satin sheets**  
**Is where he started to freak, yeah**

Giuchie, giuchie, ya ya da da _(da da)_  
Giuchie, giuchie, ya ya here _(ooh ooh yah yah)_  
Mocha Choca latta ya ya _(yaaaa)_  
**Creole Lady Marmalade**

Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir _(ce soir)_  
Voulez vous coucher avec moi _(Yeah yeah yeah uh)_

_We come through with the money and the garter belts_  
_Let 'em know we got that cake_  
_Straight up the gate_  
_We independent women, some mistake us for whores_  
_I'm sayin' why spend mine when I can spend yours_

_Disagree? Well that's you and I'm sorry_  
_I'm a keep playing these cats out like Atari_  
_High heeled shoes getting love from the dudes_  
_Four bad ass chicks from the Moulin Rouge_

Hey sisters, soul sisters  
Better get that dough sisters

_We drink wine with diamonds in the glass_  
_By the case the meaning of expensive taste_  
_You wanna gitchie, gitchie, ya ya _**(come on)**  
_Mocha Choca latta what?_  
_Creole Lady Marmalade_

_(One more time c'mon)_  
**Marmalade **_(ooh)_  
**Lady Marmalade** _(ooh yeah)_  
**Marmalade **_(ooh, hey hey hey)_

_Touch of her skin feeling silky smooth, _**hey**  
_Colour of café au lait_ **(all right)**  
_Made the savage beast inside roar until he cried_  
_More_ **(more)** _more _**(more)** _more_ **(more)**

**Now he's back home doin' 9 to 5 **_(9 to 5)_  
**Livin' the grey flannel life** _(oh pity)_  
_But when he turns off to sleep memories creep_  
_More_ **(more) **_more_ **(more) **_more_ **(more)**

Giuchie, giuchie, ya ya da da **(da da ahah oh)**  
Giuchie, giuchie, ya ya here _(ooh Oh lord)_  
Mocha Choca latta ya ya **(oh oh oohoh )**  
_Creole Lady Marmalade_

Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir **(ce soir)**  
Voulez vous coucher avec moi _(all my sisters yeh)_  
Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir **(ce soir)**  
Voulez vous coucher avec moi _(ooh)_

That's pretty much how it went the whole way there. Singing and laughing the whole way.

* * *

We were on our second trip after putting all our bags in the car because we couldn't carry them all. We were now looking for costumes. I was trying to coax Bella into the Victoria's Secret shop for our costumes. They were so hot!

"Come on Iz! At least _look _at them!" I begged.

She let out a mock suffering sigh. "Fine. But I'm only looking." Heheh. Not for long.

"I'm thinking an Alice in wonderland theme?" I looked over to Bella noticed her staring at a Alice costume. Perfect! The costume she was looking at was a short sexy blue Alice dress with a white apron and thigh high white sock with black bows on them and little school girl shoes. The top half of her dress was tight while the bottom poofed out. _**{[Pic On Profile Under 'Bella's Costume']}**_

After some some strong persuasion, I got Bella to let me buy it for her.

Now on to my costume. I wanted to be the Queen Of Hearts. The helper or whatever you call those people, helped me pick out the perfect one. She was really nice and let me try it on and everything. My costume was black leather with three red hearts going down my top half and a little bit of red on the bottom. The top half was tight and the short bottom half was poofed outwards. It came with thigh high black stockings. I had to add black arm bands to cover the scars on my wrist though. **_{[Pic On Profile Under 'Samantha's Costume']}_**

We packed up all our stuff and headed back home, both nervous about school tomorrow though she was the only one I'd let know that.

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**Rate, review, whatever. - C.B. (:**

**P.S. 2,051 Words.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Previously...**

_We packed up all our stuff and headed back home, both nervous about school tomorrow though she was the only one I'd let know that.

* * *

_

IN THE HOUSE

I read some more X-Men comics and made some dinner for Wanda seeing as she would be home in about fifteen minutes. Once I finished my comic and put it upstairs, Wanda walked in. She was dressed in a sharp business suit with heels and had her hair tied up in a tight bun on her head. She was wearing a light layer of make-up under her thin wire framed glasses.

"Samantha?" She asked as she took in my 5"6 figure. In that moment when she didn't sneer in revulsion at my eyebrow piercing or sigh in revulsion at my ripped skinny jeans, I knew that we would most likely get along well. "You're so beautiful! Your hair! It's so long. Long hair runs in the family you know." She exclaimed with a wide smile as she took in my naturally curly black hair that went all the way down to the middle of my butt.

"Thank you, Aunt Wanda, and call me Sam."

"No problem. How old are you now Sam? 17, 18?" She asked politely.

"17. Why?"

"Because in my line of work, I have to do a lot of traveling and I wanted to know if I could leave you home alone. You could come with me if you wanted to of course." She said with a hopeful smile. I didn't want to burst her bubble.

"Maybe I could come on some of them. I've always wanted to travel but I need to catch up on the school year first." I told her.

"Of course, Of course." She said with another smile. Geeze, this woman was happy. "So what have you been doing since you got here?"

"Nothing really. I made friends with Bella Swan and we hung out last night. We also went shopping for school clothes. I'm going to catch a ride to school with her tomorrow since my motorcycle won't be here for another couple days." I told her.

"Bella as in Charlie Swans daughter?" She asked.

"Yup."

We spent the rest of the night getting to know each other though I still didn't talk about my past with her. Bella was the only one I trusted enough to tell that to for some reason.

* * *

THE NEXT DAY

_There was a girl walking down the dark alleyway that she always walked through to get home after her walks. A normal girl would have been scared but this one was no ordinary girl. She wasn't scared of death. She welcomed it even. She wouldn't commit suicide but she wouldn't fear dieing either._

_She wore her hair pulled back in a tight ponytail. Her black overcoat went down to mid thigh. She walked with quick long strides and her head held high. _

_The girl was too lost in her own thoughts to notice the two men blocking her exit._

_"Hey Baby," one of them said. "I like the way you move. Maybe you should come with us and we'll show you how good we can move."_

_ The girl was too proud to show her fear so she just straightened her back and answered, "No thanks. I'd rather not watch a bunch of grown men dancing with each other."_

_They were getting too close. She may not fear death but she was sure death was the last thing on their minds. She decided to grit her teeth and just back up. Not that it helped anything. She ran into a broad chest and her hands were pulled behind her back. "Who said anything about dancing, hmm?" _

_She was too focused on the men in front of her that she didn't realize that there were two men behind her. The man holding her wrapped his arm around her neck, still keeping her small wrists in his other huge hand. When she struggled he just tightened his arm and cut off her air supply._

_The scared girl was starting to see black dots in her vision when he let her go. She dropped to her hands and knees and started making these horrible noises as she gasped for breath. The pathetic sounds she was making pissed her off. She couldn't be viewed as weak. Never. _

_One of the men used his foot to push her onto her back. The men were all surprised as they saw not a scared, crying girl but a girl with such anger and hatred in her gaze they actually stepped back. The one that talked first got out a knife. "You think your little glare is scary bitch?" He asked, sounding so much like her father that her mind immediately closed into itself. _

_The young girl filled with hatred didn't see them as human anymore. She saw them as enemys. _

_She attacked, hearing their screams and reveling in them. Her anger was in charge now. She felt a sting as the knife stabbed her above her breast but her adrenaline washed it away as she continued to knock all the men unconscious. _

_Once all was as quiet as her mind, her anger receded. Her body hurt terribly but she knew she won when she saw the bloody men on the ground. _

_She was about to walk away and go home when she saw the first mans knife on the ground._

_Not knowing she was being watched, she carved one word into all of their foreheads making sure it was deep enough to scar._

_Rapist._

I woke up with silent tears streaming down my face. Damn memories. I didn't have to worry about waking up Wanda because I was a professional at crying silently. I wiped my face and sniffed before looking over at my alarm clock and noticing it was only five o'clock. I wouldn't be able to fall back asleep.

Deciding that I wasn't going to waste away my morning, I worked out for an hour before I brushed my teeth and hopped into the shower.

When I got out of the shower it was already 7:45. I had a half an hour to get ready. I threw on a pair of ripped jeans, a corset and a hoodie. **(If you want a picture tell me in your review)** I left my hair out in loose curls down my back and put on some light waterproof makeup. Had to be prepared in this rainy town. I was ready by the time Bella honked the horn of her god awful truck.

I grabbed a bottle of orange juice as I ran out the door. "Bye Wanda." I called.

On the drive to school, Bella and I talked about anything but the subject of our destination.

Once we got to school and parked, we just sat there silently for a moment until I threw a quick grin at Bella and asked, "are you ready to be stared at like the freaks that we are?"

"No."

"Good. Let's go." We exited the car at the same time and like I predicted, people stared at us like we were from Mars.

This was going to be one _long_ day.

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**godricismine12** _- Thank you. I update as much as my busy schedule allows. _**Sinister074 **_- I'm glad you like him. Jasper be more involved during school._

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**Rate, review, whatever. - C.B. (:**

**P.S. 1,385 Words.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Previously:**

_"Good. Let's go." We exited the car at the same time and like I predicted, people stared at us like we were from Mars._

_This was going to be one long day.

* * *

_

**BellaPOV**

Everyone was staring! I had my head down and was blushing madly when I peeked up to see how Sam was coping. She held her head high and met the eyes of everyone that stared at her.

I tried it. I forced my blush to die down before raising my head to face everyone. Every time I met someones eyes, they'd quickly look away. I smiled to myself. I could get used to this.

We walked towards the office which was right in the front foyer.

When we got inside the small office I noticed a little old lady with red hair typing furiously at her computer. We stood in front of her desk and waited for her to notice us for three whole minutes. I could feel Sam getting ready to hit the woman so I gently cleared my throat.

The woman didn't look up.

Okay now I was pissed. "Excuse me?" She looked up.

"Oh, goodness! You must be Chief Swans Daughter!" She turned to Sam. "And you must be Wanda's niece." She said with a smile.

"Yup." Sam said in a flat voice. "We're just here for our schedules and maybe a map?" She asked with a sweet smile.

"But, of course dear." She said as she shuffled through some papers.

I took her about five minutes to finish giving us papers and locker codes and everything.

Once we were out of the office I suggested we go find our lockers. Ms. Cope, (The old lady) told us our lockers were near each others.

"That's probably a good idea." Sam said. "Then we can compare schedules."

"Perfect."

* * *

AT THE LOCKERS

**SamPOV**

Once we got to our lockers we took out our schedules.

**_Sam's Schedule_**

_**Period 1 **__- __Chemistry_

_**Period 2 -** Geography_

**_Lunch_**

**_Period 3_ _-_** _History_

**_Period 4 -_** _Music_

**_Period 5 -_** _Math_

**_Bella's Schedule_**

_** Period 1 - **Civics_

**_Period 2 - _**_Trigonometry  
_

**_Lunch_**

**_Period 3 -_**_ Biography_

**_Period 4 -_** _Music_

**_Period 5 -_**_ Math_

"So we have Music, and Math together." Bella said.

"Thank God!" I replied. "I wouldn't be able to get through Math alone!" I put my hand to my forehead dramatically.

Bella playfully slapped my arm. "Loser."

The bell rang.

* * *

**BellaPOV**

I walked into my Civics class right on time. The teacher made me introduce myself. _What would Sam do?_

"Hi, I'm Isabella Swan but you can call me Bella and I'm from Phoenix Arizona." I said hiding my shyness.

"Thank you, Bella. You can sit next to Emmett." I nodded and looked around the class. Who the hell was Emmett? "Emmett, stop the foolishness and raise your hand." The teacher scolded.

An attractive huge muscly guy in the second row raised his hand sheepishly. I walked up and sat down beside him.

"Hi, I'm Bella. I take it you're Emmett?" I asked politely.

"Well, duh." He said.

I rolled my eyes. "So much for trying to make conversation." I mumbled to myself. Emmett laughed hearing this. I blushed and he laughed even harder.

"Whatever." I muttered and turned away. I could feel his eyes on me throughout the class.

* * *

IN GEOGRAPHY

**SamPOV**

I walked into my second period class two minutes before the bell rang. Chemistry sucked. It was so boring, I already learned everything he was teaching! And he made me introduce myself. I now officially hated him!

The geography teacher didn't make me introduce myself. She just signed my slip and sent me to an empty seat in the back of the classroom next to a beautiful pale skinned blond. She looked bored to tears. _What would Bella do?_

"Hello." I greeted politely once I sat down. "I'm Sam. What's your name?"

"Rosalie." She said flatly and then turned away.

I scoffed. "Whatever." And then turned away as well and listened to the teacher go on about oil spills. I could feel the blondes eyes on me through out the class. Geeze, Staring problem much?

* * *

LUNCH

**SamPOV**

I met Bella at the lockers and she told me about her day so far.

"In period one there was this guy that was so rude! I tried to make conversation and he shot down my attempt and laughed at me!" Bella said with an angry blush.

"Dick." I agreed.

"Well I met a girl in Trig and she wants us to sit with her and her friends at lunch. I kinda forgot her name though." Bella admitted sheepishly.

I laughed. "Sure. Saves us from having to find a table."

We entered the cafeteria and Bella led me over to the girls table not paying attention to all the stares.

We sat and chatted and were introduced to a lot of people. I found out the girls name was Jessica. She was obviously a gossip. He friend Angela though was a sweet girl. Mike had the biggest crush on Bella that much was obvious and Tyler wouldn't stop staring at me.

I was just about to excuse myself to the washroom when the cafeteria doors opened and five gorgeous people walked into the room including the blond bitch Rosalie from Geography.

"Who are they?" Bella asked quietly.

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**RandomRiter -**_ I know Jasper hasn't been in much yet but I needed to get Samantha settled in. lol. _**Crystal-Eyes-93 **_- __I'm pretty sure that's self explanatory (:_

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	7. Chapter 7

**Previously:**

_I was just about to excuse myself to the washroom when the cafeteria doors opened and five gorgeous people walked into the room including the blond bitch Rosalie from Geography._

_"Who are they?" Bella asked quietly._

* * *

**BellaPOV**

As Jessica looked up to see who I was talking about, probably already knowing from the sound of my voice, the thinner boyish looking one looked up as if hearing his name. He glanced from Jessica to me and then averted his eyes. I lowered my eyes in embarrassment. Jessica giggled in embarrassment looking at the table like I did.

"That's Edward, Alice and Emmett Cullen, and Rosalie and Jasper Hale. They all live together with Dr. Cullen and his wife." She said this under her breath.

I glanced sideways at the beautiful boy, who was looking at his tray now, picking a bagel to pieces with long, pale fingers. His mouth was moving very quickly, his perfect lips barely opening. The other three still looked away, and yet I felt he was speaking quietly to them.

I saw Sam looking suspiciously at them.

Strange, unpopular names, I thought. The kinds of names grandparents had. But maybe that was in vogue here — small town names?

"They are… very nice-looking." I struggled with the conspicuous understatement.

"Yes!" Jessica agreed with another giggle. "They're all together though — Emmett and Rosalie, and Jasper and Alice, I mean. And they live together." Her voice held all the shock and condemnation of the small town, I thought critically. But, if I was being honest, I had to admit that even in Phoenix, it would cause gossip.

"Which ones are the Cullens?" I asked. "They don't look related…"

"Oh, they're not. Dr. Cullen is really young, in his twenties or early thirties. They're all adopted. The Hales are brother and sister, twins — the blondes — and they're foster children."

"They look a little old for foster children."

"They are now, Jasper and Rosalie are both eighteen, but they've been with Mrs. Cullen since they were eight. She's their aunt or something like that."

"That's really kind of nice — for them to take care of all those kids like that, when they're so young and everything."

"I guess so," Jessica admitted reluctantly, and I got the impression that she didn't like the doctor and his wife for some reason. With the glances she was throwing at their adopted children, I would presume the reason was jealousy. "I think that Mrs. Cullen can't have any kids, though," she added, as if that lessened their kindness.

Throughout all this conversation, my eyes flickered again and again to the table where the strange family sat. They continued to look at the walls and not eat.

"Have they always lived in Forks?" I asked. Surely I would have noticed them on one of my summers here.

"No," she said in a voice that implied it should be obvious, even to a new arrival like me. "They just moved down two years ago from somewhere in Alaska."

As I examined them, the youngest, one of the Cullens, looked up and met my gaze, this time with evident curiosity in his expression. As I looked swiftly away, it seemed to me that his glance held some kind of unmet expectation.

"Which one is the boy with the reddish brown hair?" I asked. I peeked at him from the corner of my eye, and he was still staring at me, but not gawking like the other students had today — he had a slightly frustrated expression. I looked down again, annoyed.

"That's Edward. He's gorgeous, of course, but don't waste your time. He doesn't date. Apparently none of the girls here are good-looking enough for him." She sniffed, a clear case of sour grapes. I wondered when he'd turned her down.

I bit my lip to hide my didn't even try to hide hers. Then I glanced at him again. His face was turned away, but I thought his cheek appeared lifted, as if he were smiling, too.

* * *

**EdwardPOV**

_Edward Cullen._

Reflex reaction. I turned to the sound of my name being called, though it wasn't being called, just thought.

My eyes locked for a small portion of a second with a pair of wide, chocolate-brown human eyes set in a pale, heart-shaped face. I knew the face, though I'd never seen it myself before this moment. It had been foremost in every human head today. The new student, Isabella Swan. Daughter of the town's chief of police, brought to live here by some new custody situation. Bella. She'd corrected everyone who'd used her full name...

I looked over to the other new girl and saw long black hair. She had an eyebrow piercing and ripped skinny jeans.

I looked away, bored. It took me a second to realize that she had not been the one to think my name.

_Of course she's already crushing on the Cullens,_ I heard the first thought continue.

Now I recognized the 'voice.' Jessica Stanley-it had been a while since she'd bothered me with her internal chatter. What a relief it had been when she'd gotten over her misplaced infatuation. It used to be nearly impossible to escape her constant, ridiculous daydreams. I'd wished, at the time, that I could explain to her exactly what would have happened if my lips, and the teeth behind them, had gotten anywhere near her. That would have silenced those annoying fantasies. The thought of her reaction almost made me smile.

_Fat lot of good it will do her,_ Jessica went on. _She's really not even pretty. I don't know why Eric is staring so much...or Mike._

She winced mentally on the last name. Her new infatuation, the generically popular Mike Newton, was completely oblivious to her. Apparently, he was not as oblivious to the new girl. _Like the child with the shiny object again._ This put a mean edge to Jessica's thoughts, though she was outwardly cordial to the newcomer as she explained to her the commonly held knowledge about my family. The new student must have asked about us.

_Everyone's looking at me today, too,_ Jessica thought smugly. _Isn't it lucky Bella had two classes with me...I'll bet Mike will want to ask me what she's-_

I tried to block the inane chatter out of my head before the petty and the trivial could drive me mad.

"Jessica Stanley is giving the new Swan girl and the new Keller girl all the dirty laundry on the Cullen clan," I murmured to Emmett as a distraction.

He chuckled under his breath. _I hope she's making it good,_ he thought.

"Rather unimaginative, actually. Just the barest hint of scandal. Not an ounce of horror. I'm a little disappointed."

_And the new girl? Is she disappointed in the gossip as well?_

I listened to hear what this new girl, Bella, thought of Jessica's story. What did she see when she looked at the strange, chalky-skinned family that was universally avoided?

It was sort of my responsibility to know her reaction. I acted as a lookout, for lack of a better word, for my family. To protect us. If anyone ever grew suspicious, I could give us early warning and an easy retreat. It happened occasionally-some human with an active imagination would see in us the characters of a book or a movie. Usually they got it wrong, but it was better to move on somewhere new than to risk scrutiny.

Very, very rarely, someone would guess right. We didn't give them a chance to test their hypothesis. We simply disappeared, to become no more than a frightening memory...

I heard nothing, though I listened close beside where Jessica's frivolous internal monologue continued to gush. It was as if there was no one sitting beside her. How peculiar, had the girl moved? That didn't seem likely, as Jessica was still babbling to her.

I looked up to check, feeling off-balance. Checking on what my extra 'hearing' could tell me-it wasn't something I ever had to do.

Again, my gaze locked on those same wide brown eyes. She was sitting right where she had been before, and looking at us, a natural thing to be doing, I supposed, as Jessica was still regaling her with the local gossip about the Cullens.

But I couldn't hear a whisper.

Though her thoughts had been so clear in her odd eyes-odd, because of the depth to them; brown eyes often seemed flat in their darkness-I could hear nothing but silence from the place she was sitting. Nothing at all.

I felt a moment of unease.

This was nothing I'd ever encountered before. Was there something wrong with me? I felt exactly the same as I always did. Worried, I listened harder.

All the voices I'd been blocking were suddenly shouting in my head.

_... Wonder what music she likes... Maybe I could mention that new CD..._ Mike Newton was thinking, two tables away-fixated on Bella Swan.

_...Look at him staring at her. Isn't it enough that he has half the girls in school waiting for him to..._ Eric Yorkie was thinking sulfurous thoughts, also revolving around the girl.

_... So disgusting. You'd think she was famous or something... Even Edward Cullen, staring..._ Lauren Mallory was so jealous that her face, by all rights, should be dark green in color. _And Jessica, flaunting her new best friend. What a joke.. _

_... I bet everyone has asked her that. But I'd like to talk to her. I'll think of a more original question..._ Ashley Dowling mused.

_... Maybe she'll be in my Spanish..._ June Richardson hoped.

_... Tons left to do tonight! Trig, and the English test. I hope my mom..._Angela Weber, a quiet girl, whose thoughts were unusually kind, was the only one at the table who wasn't obsessed with this Bella. No one seemed to pay any attention to Samantha. It was almost as if she wasn't even there.

I could hear them all, hear every insignificant thing they were thinking as it passed through their minds. But nothing at all from the new student with the deceptively communicative eyes.

Beneath the transient humor, I felt a strange impulse, one I did not clearly understand. It had something to do with the vicious edge to Jessica's thoughts that the new girl was unaware of... I felt the strangest urge to step in between them, to shield this Bella Swan from the darker workings of Jessica's mind.

What an odd thing to feel.

I tried to read the mind of Samantha Keller but found that unlike Bella, I could feel Samantha there but it was like a wall was blocking all of my attempts to read her mind. These girls were weird.

"Shall we?" Rosalie murmured, interrupting my focus.

I looked away from the girl with a sense of relief. I didn't want to continue to fail at this-it irritated me. And I didn't want to develop any interest in her hidden thoughts simply because they were hidden from me. No doubt, when I did decipher her thoughts-and I would find a way to do so-they would be just as petty and trivial as any human's thoughts. Not worth the effort I would expend to reach them.

"So, is the new one afraid of us yet?" Emmett asked, still waiting for my response to his question before.

I shrugged. He wasn't interested enough to press for a more information. Nor should I be interested.

We got up from the table and walked out of the cafeteria.

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**xFender'sGirlx - **_Thank you and I'll update as much as possible. (:_ **RandomRiter -** _I'm sure you are one of my most dedicated reviewers and it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside._

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	8. Chapter 8

I'm so sorry I haven't been able to update but I haven't had internet.

I'm on a friends computer right now so I'll update as soon as possible.

Thank you. (:


	9. Chapter 9

**Previously:**

_I shrugged. He wasn't interested enough to press for a more information. Nor should I be interested._

_We got up from the table and walked out of the cafeteria._

* * *

**SamPOV**

After a pretty uneventful lunch, I walked into History. I brought my green slip up to the teacher who then made me introduce myself. Dick.

"Hi, I'm Sam. I'm from California." There. Short and to the point.

I looked over to see an aggravated teacher at his desk. "Thank you Ms. Keller." He ground out. I smiled sweetly. "You can sit next to Jasper Hale." He said and pointed to the hot blond near the window.

I went to sit down next to him. I didn't plan on introducing myself but the tenseness of his body and the fact that he didn't even seem to be breathing creeped me out a little.

"Dude, breathe." I muttered to him. "I don't bite."

I don't know what I said but it made him burst out laughing. I looked at him as if he were crazy.

"Is something funny, Mr. Hale?" The teacher asked.

Jasper took a deep breath and replied, "nothing at all, Sir." He then looked surprised, as if he didn't think he would be able to breathe. Little did I know how right my guess really was.

He stared at me throughout the rest of the class. My, God. Did the whole family have staring problems?

* * *

**BellaPOV**

I walked into Biograpy with a shy Angela and didn't trip once, thank God. I'm pretty much over my clumsy phase but I still tripped every once in a while. Also I was still a danger magnet but then again, from what Sam has told me, she is a danger magnet as well.

When we entered the classroom, Angela went to sit at a black-topped lab table exactly like the ones I was used to. She already had a neighbor. In fact, all the tables were filled but one. Next to the center aisle, I recognized Edward Cullen by his weird hair, sitting next to that single open seat.

As I walked down the aisle to introduce myself to the teacher and get my slip signed, I was watching him subtly. Or not so subtly, depending on how you look at it. Just as I passed, he suddenly went rigid in his seat. He stared at me again, meeting my eyes with the strangest expression on his face — it was hostile, furious. I looked away quickly, shocked, thinking about how rude his family was. I'd noticed that his eyes were black — coal black.

Mr. Banner signed my slip and handed me a book with no crap about introductions. I could tell we were going to get along. Of course, he had no  
choice but to send me to the one open seat in the middle of the room. I kept my eyes down as I went to sit by him, bewildered by the horrible glare he'd given me.

I didn't look up as I set my book on the table and took my seat, but I saw his posture change from the corner of my eye. He was leaning away from me, sitting on the extreme edge of his chair and averting his face like he smelled something bad. I sniffed my hair. It smelled like watermelon, the scent of my favorite shampoo. It seemed an innocent enough odor. I let my hair fall over my right shoulder, making a dark curtain between us, and tried to pay attention to the teacher.

Unfortunately the lecture was on cellular anatomy, something I'd already studied. I took notes carefully anyway, always looking down.

I couldn't stop myself from peeking occasionally through the screen of my hair at the douche bag next to me. During the whole class, he never relaxed his stiff position on the edge of his chair, sitting as far from me as possible. I could see his hand on his left leg was clenched into a fist, tendons standing out under his pale skin. This, too, he never relaxed. He had the long sleeves of his white shirt pushed up to his elbows, and his forearm was surprisingly hard and muscular beneath his light skin. He wasn't nearly as scrawny as he'd looked next to his huge brother, Emmett.

I peeked up at him one more time, and regretted it. He was glaring down at me again, his black eyes full of revulsion. As I flinched away from him, shrinking against my chair, the phrase _if looks could kill_ suddenly ran through my mind. At that moment, the bell rang loudly, making me jump, and Edward Cullen was out of his seat. Fluidly he rose — he was much taller than I'd thought — his back to me, and he was out the door before anyone else was out of their seat.

Wow. I guess it is true. All the hot guys are either married, gay, or down right crazy... Or did I get that saying mixed up?

* * *

Once the final bell rang at last,I met up with Sam at the lockers and we walked slowly towards the office. I asked Sam if she wanted to hang out because I wanted to tell her about the whole biograpy incident. I knew I could confide in anything with her. She just has that aura around her that she wouldn't tease me if the situation didn't call for it.

I cast Sam a sidelong glance and studied her profile and noted the hard glint in her eyes, the permanent tightness of her jaw and the piercings on her body. All signs of her hard life. Looking at her, I could see why most people left her alone. She was scary, but if people just got to know her, I'm sure she'd be one of the best friends a person could have.

When we walked into the warm office, I almost turned around and walked back out.

Edward Cullen stood at the desk in front of us. I recognized again that tousled bronze hair. He didn't appear to notice the sound of our entrance. We stood pressed against the back wall, waiting for the receptionist to be free.

He was arguing with her in a low, attractive voice. I quickly picked up the gist of the argument. He was trying to trade from sixth-hour Biology to another time — any other time.

I just couldn't believe that this was about me. It had to be something else, something that happened before I entered the Biology room. The look on his face must have been about another aggravation entirely. It was impossible that this stranger could take such a sudden, intense dislike to me.

The door opened again, and the cold wind suddenly gusted through the room, rustling the papers on the desk, swirling my hair around my face. The girl who came in merely stepped to the desk, placed a note in the wire basket, and walked out again. But Edward Cullen's back stiffened, and he turned slowly to glare at me — his face was absurdly handsome — with piercing, hate-filled eyes. For an instant, I felt a thrill of genuine fear, raising the hair on my arms. The look only lasted a second, but it chilled me more than the freezing wind. He turned back to the receptionist.

Sam noticed his glare after looking over to me questioningly and glared right back. She must have felt my fear because she placed her arm around my waist and growled deep in her throat, low, quiet, and chilling. Only I wasn't scared for myself anymore. I was scared for him. He had no powers on his side and he didn't look as if he had half the amount of training in fighting as Sam did.

"Never mind, then," he said hastily in a voice like velvet. "I can see that it's impossible. Thank you so much for your help." And he turned on his heel without another look at me, and disappeared out the door.

"What. The. Hell?" Sam asked.

Exactly.

**

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**

**RandomRiter - **_Yes, I've been missing a whole lot :( But thank you for telling me. I need to pay more attention! That makes absolute sense. Well at least I think it does..._ **musicjunkie109 - **_Thank you. I wanted it to come as a surprise. There will be more witchcraft later on in the story._** xFender'sGirlx - **_Thank you. I like Samantha as well (:_** Angelvnzl -**_ Yes, I wanted Sam and Bella to be friends and both be new to the school so they're not alone. (:_**  
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	10. Chapter 10

**Previously:**

_"What. The. Hell?" Sam asked._

_Exactly._

* * *

**SamPOV**

"Making enemys already Belle?" I asked finally as we stopped at my house.

"I don't even know what happened." She burst out. "I walked up to him in biography because he was the only person without a lab partner and he was so mean! Like he smelled something bad or something!"

I leaned over and sniffed dramatically. "You don't smell bad to me. Maybe he's like that with everyone." I offered. She looked pretty put out.

"That's the thing Sam, I talked to Mike Newton," _You mean your little Golden retriever?_ "And he said Edward dosen't always act like that."

"Just ignore him. The whole family seems to just want to be left alone so lets honor their wishes and give them the complete elementary school silent treatment. He sounds like a prick."

Bella sniffed and nodded. "That actually sounds like fun."

I laughed. "Now you're talkin'."

* * *

It's been about a week since Edward Cullen has been away. Bella was under the impression that it was her fault. I was under the impression that maybe Karma caused him to get hit by a bus. Bella didn't find that as funny as I did for some reason.

Sticking to the plan though, Bella and I both were curt and coldly polite to the Cullens and Hales. The Alice chick looked a little sad whenever I looked at her. Rosalie looked flustered, and Jasper and Emmett just looked confused. I found it really hard to ignore Jasper though. He was just so hot and amazing and.. And.. Just hot! Okay so Bella was right. I do have a crush on him but I'll get over it soon enough.

We were sitting outside for lunch today when all of a sudden the Cullens and Hales come outside to greet the douche bag that got out of the silver volvo. The parking lot was pretty much void of people other than Bella, me, and them. Bella looked happy. I probably looked disappointing that he didn't get hit by a bus.

I had a note in my pocket reserved for this moment exactly. I picked up a rock and taped the note to the rock. I then lowered my head so my eyes weren't visible and used my magic to push the rock away from Bella and I so it didn't look like we threw it, and then I threw the rock with a lot of force and deadly accuracy towards Edweirdos' head. Bella watched the whole thing play out.

When my eyes were back to normal I looked up to see Edward reading the note and Alice looking over at me with a smile.

The note read:

_Dear Dumbass._

_Welcome back. Hurt Bellas' feelings again and I'll cut your tongue out._

_Sincerely, Your Worst Nightmare. xo_

When Edward finished reading it he, along with the rest of the family, looked towards Bella and I. Bella blushed and looked away. I winked and waved before getting up and walking away with Bella._

* * *

_

IN BIOGRAPHY

**EdwardPOV**

I pulled my chair back with unnecessary roughness, letting it scrape across the linoleum; humans always  
felt more comfortable when noise announced someone's approach.

I knew she heard the sound; she did not look up, but her hand missed a loop in the design she was  
drawing, making it unbalanced.

_Why didn't she look up?_ Probably she was frightened. I must be sure to leave her with a different  
impression this time. Make her think she'd been imagining things before. I wouldn't want my tongue cut out.  
"Hello," I said in the quiet voice I used when I wanted to make humans more comfortable, forming a  
polite smile with my lips that would not show any teeth.

She looked up then, her wide brown eyes startled-almost bewildered-and full of silent questions. It was  
the same expression that had been obstructing my vision for the last week.

As I stared into those oddly deep brown eyes, I realized that the hate-the hate I'd imagined this girl  
somehow deserved for simply existing-had evaporated. Not breathing now, not tasting her scent, it was  
hard to believe that anyone so vulnerable could ever justify hatred. Her cheeks began to flush, and she  
said nothing.

I kept my eyes on hers, focusing only on their questioning depths, and tried to ignore the appetizing  
color of her skin. I had enough breath to speak for a while longer without inhaling.

"My name is Edward Cullen," I said, though I knew she knew that. It was the polite way to begin. "I  
didn't have a chance to introduce myself last week. You must be Bella Swan."

She seemed confused-there was that little pucker between her eyes again. It took her half a second  
longer than it should have for her to respond.

"How do you know my name?" she demanded, and her voice shook just a little.

I must have truly terrified her. This made me feel guilty; she was just so defenseless. I laughed gently-it  
was a sound that I knew made humans more at ease.  
Again, I was careful about my teeth.

"Oh, I think everyone knows your name." Surely she must have realized that she'd become the center of  
attention in this monotonous place. "The whole town's been waiting for you to arrive."

She frowned as if this information was unpleasant. I supposed, being shy as she seemed to be, attention  
would seem like a bad thing to her. Most humans felt the opposite. Though they didn't want to stand  
out from the herd, at the same time they craved a spotlight for their individual uniformity.  
"No," she said. "I meant, why did you call me Bella?"  
"Do you prefer Isabella?" I asked, perplexed by the fact that I couldn't see where this question was  
leading. I didn't understand. Surely, she'd made her preference clear many times that first day. Were all  
humans this incomprehensible without the mental context as a guide?  
"No, I like Bella," she answered, leaning her head slightly to one side. Her expression-if I was reading it  
correctly-was torn between embarrassment and confusion. "But I think Charlie-I mean my dad-must call  
me Isabella behind my back.  
That's what everyone here seems to know me as." Her skin darkened one shade pinker.  
"Oh," I said lamely, and quickly looked away from her face.  
I'd just realized what her questions meant: I had slipped up-made an error. If I hadn't been  
eavesdropping on all the others that first day, then I would have addressed her initially by her full name,  
just like everyone else. She'd noticed the difference.  
I felt a pang of unease. It was very quick of her to pick up on my slip. Quite astute, especially for  
someone who was supposed to be terrified by my nearness. But I had bigger problems than whatever  
suspicions about me she might be keeping locked inside her head.  
I was out of air. If I were going to speak to her again, I would have to inhale. It would be hard to avoid  
speaking. Unfortunately for her, sharing this table made her my lab partner, and we would have to work  
together today. It would seem odd-and incomprehensibly rude-for me to ignore her while we did the  
lab. It would make her more suspicious, more afraid...  
I leaned as far away from her as I could without moving my seat, twisting my head out into the aisle. I  
braced myself, locking my muscles in place, and then sucked in one quick chest-full of air, breathing  
through my mouth alone.  
Ahh!  
It was genuinely painful. Even without smelling her, I could taste her on my tongue. My throat was  
suddenly in flames again, the craving every bit as strong as that first moment I'd caught her scent last  
week.  
I gritted my teeth together and tried to compose myself.  
"Get started," Mr. Banner commanded.  
It felt like it took every single ounce of self-control that I'd achieved in seventy years of hard work to  
turn back to the girl, who was staring down at the table, and smile. "Ladies first, partner?" I offered.  
She looked up at my expression and her face went blank, her eyes wide. Was there something off in my  
expression? Was she frightened again? She didn't speak.  
"Or, I could start, if you wish," I said quietly.  
"No," she said, and her face went from white to red again. "I'll go first."  
I stared at the equipment on the table, the battered microscope, the box of slides, rather than watch the  
blood swirl under her clear skin. I took another quick breath, through my teeth, and winced as the taste  
made my throat ache.  
"Prophase," she said after a quick examination. She started to remove the slide, though she'd barely  
examined it.  
"Do you mind if I look?" Instinctively-stupidly, as if I were one of her kind-I reached out to stop her hand  
from removing the slide. For one second, the heat of her skin burned into mine. It was like an electric  
pulse-surely much hotter than a mere ninety-eight point six degrees. The heat shot through my hand  
and up my arm. She yanked her hand out from under mine.  
"I'm sorry," I muttered through my clenched teeth. Needing somewhere to look, I grasped the  
microscope and stared briefly into the eyepiece. She was right.  
"Prophase," I agreed.  
I was still too unsettled to look at her. Breathing as quietly as I could through my gritted teeth and trying  
to ignore the fiery thirst, I concentrated on the simple assignment, writing the word on the appropriate  
line on the lab sheet, and then switching out the first slide for the next.  
What was she thinking now? What had that felt like to her, when I had touched her hand? My skin must  
have been ice cold-repulsive. No wonder she was so quiet. I glanced at the slide.  
"Anaphase," I said to myself as I wrote it on the second line.  
"May I?" she asked.  
I looked up at her, surprised to see that she was waiting expectantly, one hand half-stretched toward  
the microscope. She didn't look afraid. Did she really think I'd gotten the answer wrong?  
I couldn't help but smile at the hopeful look on her face as I slid the microscope toward her.  
She stared into the eyepiece with an eagerness that quickly faded. The corners of her mouth turned  
down.  
"Slide three?" she asked, not looking up from the microscope, but holding out her hand. I dropped the  
next slide into her hand, not letting my skin come anywhere close to hers this time. Sitting beside her  
was like sitting next to a heat lamp. I could feel myself warming slightly to the higher temperature.  
She did not look at the slide for long. "Interphase," she said nonchalantly-perhaps trying a little too hard  
to sound that way-and pushed the microscope to me.  
She did not touch the paper, but waited for me to write the answer. I checked-she was correct again.  
We finished this way, speaking one word at a time and never meeting each other's eyes. We were the  
only ones done-the others in the class were having a harder time with the lab. Mike Newton seemed to  
be having trouble concentrating-he was trying to watch Bella and me.  
Wish he'd stayed wherever he went, Mike thought, eyeing me sulfurously.  
Hmm, interesting. I hadn't realized the boy harbored any ill will towards me. This was a new  
development, about as recent as the girl's arrival it seemed. Even more interesting, I found-to my  
surprise-that the feeling was mutual.  
I looked down at the girl again, bemused by the wide range of havoc and upheaval that, despite her  
ordinary, unthreatening appearance, she was wreaking on my life. It wasn't that I couldn't see what  
Mike was going on about. She was actually rather pretty...in an unusual way. Better than being  
beautiful, her face was interesting. Not quite symmetrical-her narrow chin out of balance with her wide  
cheekbones; extreme in the coloring- the light and dark contrast of her skin and her hair; and then there  
were the eyes, brimming over with silent secrets... Eyes that were suddenly boring into mine.  
I stared back at her, trying to guess even one of those secrets.  
"Did you get contacts?" she asked abruptly.  
What a strange question. "No." I almost smiled at the idea of improving my eyesight.  
"Oh," she mumbled. "I thought there was something different about your eyes."  
I felt suddenly colder again as I realized that I was apparently not the only one attempting to ferret out  
secrets today.  
I shrugged, my shoulders stiff, and glared straight ahead to where the teacher was making his rounds.  
Of course there was something different about my eyes since the last time she'd stared into them. To  
prepare myself for today's ordeal, today's temptation, I'd spent the entire weekend hunting, satiating  
my thirst as much as possible, overdoing it really. I'd glutted myself on the blood of animals, not that it  
made much difference in the face of the outrageous flavor floating on the air around her. When I'd  
glared at her last, my eyes had been black with thirst. Now, my body swimming with blood, my eyes  
were a warmer gold. Light amber from my excessive attempt at thirst-quenching.  
Another slip. If I'd seen what she'd meant with her question, I could have just told her yes.  
I'd sat beside humans for two years now at this school, and she was the first to examine me closely  
enough to note the change in my eye color. The others, while admiring the beauty of my family, tended  
to look down quickly when we returned their stares. They shied away, blocking the details of our  
appearances in an instinctive endeavor to keep themselves from understanding. Ignorance was bliss to  
the human mind.  
Why did it have to be this girl who would see too much?  
Mr. Banner approached our table. I gratefully inhaled the gush of clean air he brought with him before it  
could mix with her scent.  
"So, Edward," he said, looking over our answers, "didn't you think Isabella should get a chance with the  
microscope?"  
"Bella," I corrected him reflexively. "Actually, she identified three of the five."  
Mr. Banner's thoughts were skeptical as he turned to look at the girl. "Have you done this lab before?"  
I watched, engrossed, as she smiled, looking slightly embarrassed.  
"Not with onion root."  
"Whitefish blastula?" Mr. Banner probed.  
"Yeah."  
This surprised him. Today's lab was something he'd pulled from a more advanced course. He nodded  
thoughtfully at the girl. "Were you in an advanced placement program in Phoenix?"  
"Yes."  
She was advanced then, intelligent for a human. This did not surprise me.  
"Well," Mr. Banner said, pursing his lips. "I guess it's good you two are lab partners." He turned and  
walked away mumbling, "So the other kids can get a chance to learn something for themselves," under  
his breath. I doubted the girl could hear that.  
She began scrawling loops across her folder again.  
Two slips so far in one half hour. A very poor showing on my part. Though I had no idea at all what the  
girl thought of me- how much did she fear, how much did she suspect? -I knew I needed to put forth a  
better effort to leave her with a new impression of me. Something to better drown her memories of our  
ferocious last encounter. Again. I didn't want my tongue cut out. 

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**Angelvnzl -** _Yeah, I really like the idea of Sam protecting Bella as well._ **txjazz1863 -** _I'm so so so so sorry I'm taking so long to update. :( _**RandomRiter -** _Thank you. (:_

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**P.S. 0,000 Words.**


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